


Flashbulb Memories

by transliterate



Series: (maybe if we) think and wish and hope and pray [1]
Category: Fringe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-22
Updated: 2012-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-10 11:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transliterate/pseuds/transliterate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another look into the mechanics of Highschool AU!Pecoln with Olivia thrown in; flashbacks and varied attempts to impress each other. Same old, same old.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flashbulb Memories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lesliecrusher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesliecrusher/gifts).



> Nothing here but fluff and I am only mildly apologetic about this, but I am 100% sorry that you have to suffer through my ramble-y, difficult to follow writing process in order to bear witness to how cute they are. I think my summary might be somewhat misleading even if it's true, because there is an unfortunate lack of constant dialogue in this piece (aka reasons why I will never be in any way a decent fic writer).FOR LESLIECRUSHER BECAUSE IT'S HER BIRTHDAY ETC

There isn't anything terribly interesting about the first time they met. Two five year olds, pushed into a barely furnished foyer with only one Hot Wheel between them while their parents made obligatory small talk about the neighborhood's great location-- and other equally boring Grown Up topics. There had been a short lived fight over who would play with the Hot Wheel first, but the skirmish was resolved quickly when Peter suggested they look around Lincoln's newly acquired lawn for "elements of interest". Even as a rascally five year old, Peter Bishop managed to be one of the more intelligent people in the room. Lincoln resented this truth, but not nearly as much as he admired it.

Even now, he remembers Peter introducing himself as "Pete" and carrying himself with an exaggerated tough guy persona. Lincoln realized years later that Pete was one of many personalities the young Bishop would attempt to mold himself into. Over the years, he's quietly picked up on Peter's quest for an identity that he is comfortable with. Lincoln suspects the mantra his mother instilled into him from a young age coupled with his father's consistent neglect has a signficant contribution in Peter's crisis of self. He also likes to think that amidst a number of identifiers, Peter has settled on defining himself as "Lincoln's boyfriend".

Although the cut and dry details of their first introductions were unmistakably true, Peter still managed to swear up and down to Olivia that their original encounter happened much later than Lincoln remembered. _Of course_ , everything he brought to the table as a result of his revision of Lincoln's original telling rested on a carefully crafted myth that Lincoln had a faulty memory. Lincoln himself remained hopeful that Olivia's photographic memory would prove to aid him as he attempted to discredit stories Peter told in the future. He was terribly narcissistic when recounting the past and nearly every single one of his nostalgia trips painted him in an impossibly near-perfect light.

Peter reckoned Lincoln was just a little preoccupied with the fact that Olivia seemed to have focused all her attention onto him for a change, seeing as the further he went into the tale of their first contact as kids, the more embarassing it became on Lincoln's part. That was probably why he kept hitting Peter with the occasional death glare, which only prompted Peter to make the story more ridiculous. "Oh, yeah, he was _totally_ wearing a superman costume. Head-to-toe, Man of Steel." Olivia's light, amused laughter filled the space of the Tree House, currently outfitted with far less comic books, trading cards, and various algorithims than the well-built fortress had ever seen. Minutes before Peter suggested Olivia join them after school one day in the tree house he'd instructed Lincoln to sweep the area and remove any evidence of overly nerdy behavior. Their ongoing game of RISK was the first thing to be tucked away safely on one of the many storage shelves Captain Lee had installed, a tragedy indeed.

Lincoln was much more gracious than Peter would've been if the tables were turned. He kept giving Lincoln suggestive eyebrow wiggles in response to the Glares of Death. Peter was completely endearing Lincoln to Olivia with all these fabrications and he really didn't think he deserved all the silent aggression that was being sent his way. Probably the most unfortunate detail in all of this would be the fact that Lincoln was unbearably, hopelessly sexy when he was this angry... or, whatever emotion Lincoln experienced that came close to anger. Peter seriously doubted Lincoln had ever been truly angry, but then again, the memory of the night Lincoln found out about his parents' divorce was seared into his brain. There was so little Peter could do to calm him down that they'd just ended up sitting on the edge of the tree house, Lincoln keeping a tight grasp on Peter's hand while he visibly fought tears. Now though, even in the midst of his annoyance with Peter's flair for storytelling, he still managed to calmly inform Olivia that Peter had a problem with over-exaggeration.

There _had_ been a Superman costume incident (when the boys were ten, not five), but this was one of many staple events that occured during the Dark Ages of their friendship saga. The argument had been propelled by the initial discovery that Peter was an avid Star Trek fan and rejected many of the things Star Wars had to offer, an offense so great that Lincoln actually left their Friday sleepover early in defiance. The fight itself was conducted through strategic proxies, like Astrid, who Lincoln recruited to actively drop Star Wars trivia into every conversation she ever had with Peter; and vaguely terrifying verbal assaults that often ended with Peter getting just frustrated enough to think about hitting Lincoln. Luckily, there hadn't been any real injuries sustained during this time. After months of tedious arguing, the boys created a truce and teamed up to take down a greater foe: Brandon Fayette, a teacher's pet who had begun cheating off of Peter's math homework. Some things are worse than a difference of opinion over Star Trek and Star Wars, and that was one of them.

Lincoln really liked the story of his failed attempt to garner a higher ground by bringing a side battle of DC versus Marvel into the intense feud, because Peter always became overwhelmingly animated towards the end- and there were few times that Lincoln didn't turn into a puddle of unprecedented affection by the time he reached the final stage of the tale. It was pretty obvious by now to everyone involved that Peter had become distracted mid-fabrication and forgotten that he was attempting to re-create their first meeting into a more action filled tale, because he rounded off his tirade nicely by adding in the bit about Brandon's resulting near-expulsion and current status as friendly acquaintance. After he finished, he blinked a few times and flashed a practiced smile at Olivia. "You can't say he didn't warn you about this," he began, correctly predicting that Lincoln had pre-emptively told Olivia of Peter's tendency to add his own personal touch to every story he ever told.

Olivia found herself more and more comfortable with Lincoln and Peter. Especially now, up in the tree house, listening to the potentially untrue re-telling of how the boys had met. They made it so easy to fall into a carefree existence, it almost frightened her. Seventeen years, and she'd never let her guard down as much as she did around these two. Peter's relaxed charm had been intimidating and suspicious all at once, but after Olivia started to see how similarly guarded he was. He deflected real emotion with false confidence and it made Olivia just curious enough to stick around. Lincoln was entirely different. He was an easy read, though it was difficult to say if the transparency was intentional or not. Regardless, Lincoln Lee was the most sincere person she'd ever met. He was quiet and kind and not at all forceful... after a few interactions with the both of them, she wondered if years of dealing with Peter's antics had conditioned him to be the patient individual that she was growing so dangerously fond of. Watching he two of them together was fascinating. Peter's lazy effortlessness battled against Lincoln's high-strung energy but neither one ever claimed a victory. They had this steady back and forth that worked in unimaginable ways. They couldn't be more opposite but somehow, they fit together seamlessly. Olivia was drawn to their connection, the magnetic force that surrounded them and held them together. When she was with them, she felt... safe. Wanted, even. It was confusing and exhilarating but she worked to remain distant. She hadn't survived this long by trusting anyone other than herself. Still, it would be nice to just let go and _be_ , especially with Peter and Lincoln at her side.


End file.
